The White House used this moment as proof the US should cut immigration. Its real history is more complicated

Assistant Professor in US History, University of Massachusetts Amherst

This week, as President Trump comes out in support of a bill that seeks to halve legal immigration to the United States, his administration is emphasising the idea that Americans and their jobs need to be protected from all newcomers — undocumented and documented. To support that idea, his senior policy adviser Stephen Miller has turned to a moment in American history that is often referenced by those who support curbing immigration: the Mariel boatlift of 1980. But, in fact, much of the conventional wisdom about that episode is based on falsehoods rooted in Cold War rhetoric, writes USSC visiting scholar Julio Capó.

Assistant Professor in US History, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Julio Capó was a visiting scholar at the US Studies Centre in 2017. He is an Assistant Professor in US History at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His research and teaching interests include modern US history and the world with an emphasis on the Caribbean and Latin America.